New Haven, Connecticut, Aug 25 : Anabel Medina Garrigues overcame a knee injury to beat Elena Vesnina 6-2, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday in the second round of the New Haven Open, the final WTA tournament before the U.S. Open.
The Spaniard, looking for her third tournament title this season, was in charge throughout the contest. But she failed to convert on three match points while up 6-5 and serving for the second set. Vesnina hit a passing shot to save the third match point, and Medina Garrigues sat on the court and grabbed her right knee.
After a brief medical delay, Vesnina broke serve to force the tiebreaker.
But Medina Garrigues said she was able to take advantage of a gusting wind, which was at her back at the end of the tiebreaker, and gut out the win. She said she might have retired from the match if she had lost the second set.
“I was thinking of that,” she said. “But I was lucky. I won the tiebreaker and I won the match.”
Medina Garrigues, whose titles this season both came on clay, is scheduled to play Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals, but said she planned to have her knee examined Wednesday night.
Marion Bartoli also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 win over Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.
The fourth-seeded Bartoli broke Zakopalova's serve three times in the first set, but was broken three times in the second. She regained her form, cruising in the final set.
“I lost to Klara the last two times we played each other. So, it was great for me. It was great for my confidence,” Bartoli said. “I'm starting to play a little better than I did in Toronto and Cincinnati. Everything is starting to click together, and that's very good before the U.S. Open starts.
Bartoli will play qualifier Petra Cetkovska on quarterfinals. Later Wednesday, French Open champion Li Na faced Maria Kirilenko of Russia. AP
